2. Sources of Crime Statistics

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this lecture, we think about the two main sources of crime statistics in the UK, focusing in particular on: (i) police-recorded crime statistics (ii) crime and victimisation surveys; (iii) the strengths and weaknesses of each source; (iv) the kinds of crimes that are left out; (v) the kinds of people who are left out; (vi) the issues associated with the subjectivity of crime and its reporting.

Course

In this course, Dr Stephanie Fohring (Northumbria University) provides an introduction to crime statistics. In the first lecture, we think about the subjective nature of crime, and the strengths and limitations of quantitative data (e.g. crime statistics) and qualitative data (e.g. in-depth interviews), respectively. In the second lecture, we think about some of the sources of crime statistics in the UK, particularly police-recorded crime statistics and crime and victimisation surveys. In the third lecture, we consider why there is such a big difference in these two sources of crime statistics – the so-called 'dark figure of crime'. Next, we think about why sexual offences have such so reporting and recording rates. In the fifth and final lecture, we consider how ethnicity affects experiences of crime and criminal justice.

Lecturer

Dr Stephanie Fohring in Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Sciences at Northumbria University. Her research is victim-focused with particular interest in psychological aspects of victimisation, victimisation surveys, victim labelling, victim experiences of reporting crime and the criminal justice system, violence against women, vicarious trauma and post-traumatic growth.